Eurovision Song Contest 2014
|withdraw = |vote = Countries vote 12, 10, 8, 7 to 1 points with a 50/50 jury and televote combination |winner = Conchita Wurst - Rise Like a Phoenix |previous = 2013 |next = 2015 |semi = -- |conductor = --}} The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th annual Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following Emmelie de Forest's win in 2013 with the song Only Teardrops. This was the third time that Denmark hosted the contest, the last time being in 2001, after the Olsen Brothers' victory in 2000. Denmark is also the first country to win twice in the new millennium, and the second country after Sweden to host the contest twice in the new millennium. Thirty-seven countries confirmed participation. The semi-finals took place on 6 and 8 May 2014, with the grand final on 10 May 2014. As a token of gratitude for its loyalty and enthusiasm for the contest over the years, Australia was invited to participate as part of the second semi-final interval act. They have been broadcasting the event since the 1983 contest in Munich. Conchita Wurst of Austria won the final. This was Austria's first win in the competition since 1966. The Netherlands placed second (their best result since 1975) and Sweden placed third rounding out the Top 3. An estimated 195 million people across Europe and around the world watched the contest, over 5 million tweets with the hashtag #Eurovision were recorded on Twitter during the grand final. On 14 November 2019, the full grand final was uploaded to the official Eurovision YouTube channel. Format Crimea The contest was held in the immediate aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, Russian military intervention in Ukraine, and the crisis in Crimea, in which Crimea was annexed by Russia. It was decided by the EBU and DR in late April 2014, that the televoting result in the region would be counted as Ukrainian votes, due to Ukrainian telecom operators in the area. : "As it stands now there are Ukrainian telecom operators active in Crimea and it should be so during all the shows next week. We at the EBU are not the ones to change these operators". - Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest Graphics and Postcards The graphic design of the contest was revealed by the EBU on 18 December 2013 after the first roll-out of tickets. The theme art comprises a blue and purple diamond, within it the generic Eurovision Song Contest logo featuring the Danish flag as well as the hashtag and slogan "#JoinUs" at the centre of the diamond. The postcards used to introduce a country and their participants, were shot in their respected countries, and feature the artists using unique ways to create their country's flag, e.g. the postcard for the United Kingdom features Molly creating the Union Flag from Routemaster buses, Royal Mail vans, and people wearing blue raincoats along with strips of red and white paper. Special Segments Several short featurettes were featured throughout the three shows. They are as follows: * Wonderful Copenhagen (Semi 1): Pilou takes viewers and tourists on a hilarious tour of the Danish capital. * Euro-stralia (Semi 2): A live feed from Sydney featuring Australian fans as well as SBS commentator Julia Zemiro preceded the semi 2 interval act featuring a display of Australian clichés leading into Jessica Mauboy's performance. * The #JoinUs Dance (Semi 2): 37 people young and old chosen from across Europe showed off their dance moves in a unique performance. * 12-Point Song (Final): Lise, Pilou and Nikolaj pay tribute to Eurovision's most famous number in song. * 'Museum of Eurovision History (Final): '''Pilou welcomes visitors to an interactive Eurovision museum featuring cameo appearances by many past Eurovision stars including Herreys, Johnny Logan, Lordi and Gina G. * '''The Eurovision Book of Records (All shows): '''Profiling the many interesting records of the contest such as the Highest Hair, the Most Claps, the Longest Note and the Most La's among others. Returning Artists Results The official allocation draw took place on 20 January 2014 at Copenhagen City Hall and was hosted by Tine Gøtzsche and Ulla Essendrop. Participating countries were placed into six pots to determine which Semi Final they will be in as well as which half of their allocated semi they would be performing. This is decided by geographic location and votes to and from that country within the last ten years. Pre-allocations Sweden and Norway were allocated to separate semifinals in order to maximize ticket availability for those countries, as a result Sweden was allocated to semi 1 and Norway to semi 2. Israel requested allocation to semifinal 2 due to their major national holiday falling on the day of semifinal 1. Germany was allocated to broadcast and vote in semifinal 2 as per a request by ARD/NDR. During the Head of Delegation meetings on 17 March 2014, Denmark was given spot 23 in the grand final running order. Qualifiers Montenegro, Slovenia and San Marino all made the final for the first time after many tries, while Austria and Switzerland qualified for the first time since 2011. All of the Scandinavian countries qualified, however all of the Baltic states were eliminated Ireland and Israel, which were massive fan favorites going into the contest, both failed to qualify from the second semifinal with Israel finishing second-last. Results Semi Final One , and voted in this Semi Final. It was held on 6 May 2014. Semi Final Two , and the voted in this Semi Final. It was held on 8 May 2014. Grand Final The Grand Final was held on 10 May 2014. All 37 countries voted. Albania and San Marino used juries due to insufficient televote capabilities. Georgia's jury vote was declared invalid due to all five jury members voting for the same top 8 (which is statistically impossible according to the EBU), resulting in the televote results being used instead. Withdrawn Countries * - BNT wanted to take part in Copenhagen, but their funds were too low to participate * - HRT said they have had bad results since 2010, and their funds are too low. * - CyBc's budget is also low with banking crisis * - RTS have a low budget, and lack of sponsorship for an entry. Countries that participated in the past but not in 2014 * – RTVA said they will not return due to their recent placings, and their tight budget. * – On 18 December 2013, the Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT) announced that due to a lack of sponsorhip, Bosnia and Herzegovina wouldn't return to the 2014 edition, after an absence of one year. Like Bulgarian National Television, the BHRT firstly wanted to participate in the contest * – Česká televize (ČT) confirmed that Czech Republic won't take part in this edition on 30 September 2013. The reasons are low viewing figures and the bad results that the country obtained in the contest. The last Czech entry was in 2009. However, the country will return to the 2015 contest in Vienna. * – Alain Berwick, Radio Télé Luxembourg's chief executive officer, said that Luxembourg will be again out in the contest, since its last participation in 1993. The lack of public interest and the potential financial burden of hosting the contest are the reasons. It was confirmed on 24 July 2013. * – Télé Monte Carlo (TMC), Monegasque broadcaster, informed a Eurovision news website that Monaco won't return to Eurovision in this year. The last entry from the country was in 2006, after an interruption of 23 years. * – Moroccan broadcaster Societé Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Télévision (SNRT) confirmed to a Eurovision news website on 11 September 2013 that Morocco wouldn't be again in Eurovision, but maybe it will come back in a near future. * – On 1 September 2013, Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska (RTVS) announced in their Twitter feed that Slovakia will not take part in Copenhagen. Later, it was confirmed on 9 September 2013. The last Slovakian entry was in 2012. * – İbrahim Şahin, general director of Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu (TRT), said on 14 September 2013 that there are no plans to return to Eurovision while it maintains the current conditions. Turkey won't be again in the contest due to the dissatisfaction with the introduction of a mixed jury/televote voting system and the use of the Big Five. It was confirmed on 7 November 2013. However, there were rumors about that the country will return in 2015, however this wasn't the case. Other countries * Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) didn't state intentions of taking part in 2014 edition, Kosovo's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Petrit Selimi said in ''Korrespondeterna (Swedish television program) that Kosovo would be granted EBU membership and so, it would be able to participate in Eurovision 2014. However, Kosovo must be first recognized as independent country by the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) if it wants to be part of the contest. * Liechtenstein tried again to participate in the contest, but broadcaster 1 Fürstentum Liechtenstein Television (1FLTV) announced on 10 September 2013 that they won't take part in any foreseeable Eurovision edition until such financial support has been granted by the government of Liechtenstein. * Canadian cable channel OUTtv broadcast the contest on delay across three consecutive days: the first semifinal airing June 20, the second semifinal airing June 21 and a marathon day on June 22 featuring both semifinals as well as the grand final. Commentary was provided by Adam Rollins and Tommy D. Category:Denmark Category:Austria Category:Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Category:21st Century Eurovision Category:Winners with a score over 200 points